Topic: [Feature] Include rules reminder text alongside the new comment form

Posted under Site Bug Reports & Feature Requests

Requested feature overview description.

  • Add succinct reminder text (e.g. bullet points) alongside the form for posting new comments, addressed toward the most common types of rules violations (e.g. don't be creepy, don't roleplay, don't troll, use your blacklist).
  • The reminder text can be excerpted from the how to comment guide, which is already written and has a friendly presentation, but requires following a link and is too easily bypassed.
    • If users can't be bothered to follow the link that's already there, then bring the rules to them, at the point where the rule-breaking is occurring.
    • Including links to both the full "how to comment guide" and the full code of conduct in the reminder text will increase user awareness of them, and make them more accessible in general.
  • By placing the reminder text alongside the input textarea, it will be presented to the user in a clear and conspicuous way, for the entire time they are writing their comment. This will hopefully make them more aware of what they're about to post, and reduce the perception that rules enforcement is capricious or arbitrary.
    • By preventing bad comments from being made, this will hopefully also reduce the number of users who feel personally targeted/attacked/persecuted after receiving negative moderator feedback/records/punishment (but it won't stop all instances of this, because people do be like that).
  • Limiting the number of reminders to only the most common violations will prevent cluttering the interface, and reduce the likelihood of intimidating users with a wall of text.
  • To reduce page clutter, the reminder text should only be displayed when the input textarea is made visible (e.g. after clicking the 'Post comment' link).
    • Possibly hide the existing reminder ("Before commenting, read the how to comment guide.") at the same time.

Why would it be useful?
Hopefully reduce the number of bad comments being made, thereby reducing the number of reports/tickets being generated, and reducing administrator/moderator/staff workload.

What part(s) of the site page(s) are affected?
Post view page, new comment form

Mockup - layout and content are just examples

Edit: added mockup

Updated

Only if there's a setting to move it back to the old format. The sorts of people who would need to have such an obvious reminder are likely mostly the same people who don't bother looking into their settings.

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